A new projection display that utilizes reflections from a large array of micro-mirrors (about one million), each mounted above its own semiconductor memory cell and referred to herein as a DMD (digital micro-mirror device) is described in IEEE Spectrum, November 1993, vol. 30, no. 11, written by Jack M. Younse of Texas Instruments Incorporated. The DMD comprises a special light modulator that covers each memory cell of a CMOS static RAM with a movable tiny, substantially square or diamond shaped mirror having an edge dimension on the order of about 17 micrometers. Electrostatic forces controlled by the data in this cell tilt each of the mirrors around a pair of axes either plus or minus about 10 degrees, so as to modulate the light incident on the surface of the mirror.
Other types of image display systems typically create images by emitting or modulating light so that the light forms an array of picture elements, or pixels, which when viewed together form an image. While most light modulators can create multiple intensity levels, a true digital light modulator, such as the DMD cannot. The light reflected from selected ones of the mirrors passes through a projection lens and creates an image on a large screen. Light from the remaining OFF or non-selected mirrors is reflected away from the projection lens and trapped. Without the capability to create multiple brightness levels, digital light modulators such as the DMD array rely on a digital pulse-width modulation scheme to create various intensity levels by turning a modulator element on and off very rapidly.
The portion of time during each video frame that the mirror remains in the on state determines the shades of gray (or color intensity) from black, for zero percent on time, to white, (or bright color) for 100 percent on time. Color may be added by a color wheel or by using two or more DMD's to control or turn a selected set of primary colors on and off.
If the DMD device only has the capability to display a low number of digital bits representing the on and off times there will be a limited number of shades of gray or shades of color, that in turn results in poor video quality.
Intensity, or image brightness, is one of many metrics by which display systems are judged. The importance of these different characteristics varies depending on the particular customer or consumer. Brightness is one metric that is extremely important to purchasers of display systems, and therefore, techniques that will improve modulation brightness are important in pulse-width modulated display systems.